MFA Financial’s (MFA) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) in a research report released on Thursday morning,RTT News reports. Wedbush currently has a $15.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

MFA has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on MFA Financial from $13.00 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of MFA Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of MFA Financial from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on MFA Financial from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.60.

MFA Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MFA traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.51. 1,182,373 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 743,002. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 2.16. MFA Financial has a 52 week low of $9.48 and a 52 week high of $13.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.54.

MFA Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.16%. MFA Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFA Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MFA Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $140,000. Capital Square LLC raised its holdings in MFA Financial by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 40,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in MFA Financial by 4,867.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,076 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 18,692 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFA Financial by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of MFA Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $860,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.28% of the company’s stock.

About MFA Financial

MFA Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage securities, including non-agency mortgage-backed securities, agency MBS, and credit risk transfer securities; residential whole loans, including purchased performing loans, purchased credit deteriorated, and non-performing loans; and mortgage servicing rights related assets.